HT Bureau
GUWAHATI/DIBRUGARH, Sept 10: A lookout circular was issued for Assamese actress Sumi Bora, her photographer husband, brother and his wife besides two others in connection with the multi-crore stock market trading scam.
Dibrugarh district police chief Rakesh Reddy said the circular was issued for the actress, her husband Tarkik Bora, brother Rajib Bora and his wife Jinki Mili, and two others as they failed to appear before the police who wanted to question them in connection with the scam in which people were allegedly duped of hundreds of crores of rupees.
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Last week, 22-year-old Bishal Phukan, who owned the company that duped investors, was arrested along with his manager. During the investigation, it was found that Phukan had allegedly spent lavishly on Bora including her high-profile wedding in Rajasthan’s Udaipur.
The probe was taken over by the CID and a Special Investigation Team was set up to look into the allegations, the SP said.
Several properties linked to Phukan were seized and the process to attach those will be started soon, he said.
Reddy said documents were being analysed to estimate the amount involved in the scam.
Police are also in touch with SEBI, the Income Tax Department and other agencies for the verification of the seized documents, he said.
“We have recorded statements of several witnesses, including investors and family members. We have also issued notices to around 15 people for recording their statements in connection with this case,” he added.
In his Facebook profile, Phukan identifies himself as an industrialist, music composer, producer and singer. Bora, a social media influencer, used to claim that Phukan was her brother and allegedly swayed several prominent persons into investing in the markets through his company.
Phukan was arrested on August 30 on the basis of a suo motu complaint filed by the police who were looking into his lavish lifestyle and allegations of duping investors following similar cases elsewhere in the state.
The first such case came to light in the last week of August when people who had invested with a firm named DB Stock Trading on the promise of huge returns complained that they were not getting back their money and also, it closed its office.
Its 29-year-old owner Deepankar Barman went on the run, but police managed to arrest his close associate Monalisa Das. Investors had allegedly vandalised his parent’s flat in Guwahati.
Subsequently, police arrested one Sapnanil Das, claimed to be the CEO of Trader.Sapnanil — a firm that also allegedly duped people through similar means. He also ran an institute, training youngsters on markets and trading.
In Dibrugarh, police also arrested Ranjit Kakoti of Trading FX in another similar case.
“We have progressed considerably in this case as well and a look out notice has been issued to the company’s owner who is based in Haryana as it was under his guidance that this scam took place,” the SP said.
So far, 59 people have been arrested and 14 SITs set up to investigate 28 cases that have been registered across districts. The cases were registered under the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019, besides the Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita.
These firms, which were run mostly by men and women in their 20s, raised hundreds of crores of rupees from the people on the promise that they would get huge returns by investing in the stock markets.
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the police and CID were investigating the cases, and if the need arises, the state government was willing to hand over the investigation to the CBI.
Lance Naik Saroj Deka of the CID was dismissed while Golaghat police station’s OC Jitumoni Deka was suspended for their alleged involvement in illegal trading.
Meanwhile, Bokakhat police have picked up one Subhanjyoti Kurmi and Chandan Nath from their residence on Tuesday in connection to the case.
They were brought to Dibrugarh police Station on Tuesday evening.
Subhanjyoti Kurmi’s mother revealed at Bokakhat that her son had been working with Tarkik since 2016.
She also mentioned that Subhanjyoti attended the wedding ceremony of Sumi and Tarkik in Udaipur in Rajasthan.
Sumi and Tarkik travelled with Subhanjyoti from Guwahati to Latabari, Bokakhat.
According to Subhanjyoti’s mother, they arrived at Subhanjyoti’s home in Latabari on September 3, 2024 after coming from Guwahati, rested during the day, and left for Golaghat around 11 pm.
Kurmi’s mother also informed the police that when Subhanjyoti asked Sumi and Tarkik to leave upon learning of the incident, they pressured Subhanjyoti to provide them with a mobile phone. (With inputs from PTI)
